Lubricating journal-bearing.



J. A. MALM.

LUBRICATING JOURNAL BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14. 1914.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

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INVENTOR.

the discharged J'OHAN A. MAIM, 0F VICTOR, COLORADO.

LUBRICATING JOURNALBEABING'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. Mt, rare.

Application filed April 14, 1914. Serial No. 831,788.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHAN ALARIK MALM, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Victor, in the county of Teller and State of Colorado, useful Improvements in Lubricating J ournal-Bearings; and-I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in lubricating journal boxes, and particularly to a type in which the lubrication is caused by a disk mounted on the axle, and which takes up the lubricating oil and conveys it to proper ports leading to the axle, by the action of cohesion and centrifugal force.

The primary object of this invention therefore, is to produce such lubricating means, and a secondary object is to employ the disk construction as a gland to prevent the escape of fluid pressure, such as steam, from the interior of turbines, pumps or other machinery; or to stop air leaks from outside when vacuum or less than atmos pheric pressure is inside of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to keep the oil in circulation through the bearing, and for that reason the outlet port for or thrown off oil is at a greater distance from the center of the shaft or disk than the inlet port feeding the oil to the disk. By this way there is greater centrifugal forceand consequently greater pressure at the discharge than at the inlet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for conveying the oil, after it has served its lubricating purposes, back again to the oil chamber in such a manner that this used oil, which is heated, will not be in a position to again until after it has been cooled oif, and settled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for mounting the bushing of the journal shaft in such a manner that it is flexibly supported within the journal With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts, as shown in the drawings, and as hereinafter described, the particular features of novelty being more succinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

have invented certain new and be immediately used It will be understood, however, that various minor changes might be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, or without impairing any of the vital principles thereof. \Vhile the invention, therefore, is not limited to the exact details, as shown and described, still for the purpose of disclosure, had to the accomreference is panying drawings, illustrating a practical embodiment of the same, in which drawings like characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through my improved journal box, taken axially along the shaft of a turbine, or similar machine; and Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

While the invention is not restricted to any specific use, for illustration 1 designates conventionally the hub of a turbine or similar machine having a rotor member, and 2 the journal shaft or axle therefor at each side of the casing, while 3 represents the interior space of the machine.

As this particular invention relates to the journal box and the manner of mounting the journal shaft or axle therein, it is not thought to be necessary to illustrate or describe other features of a machine embodying the invention, and while the drawings show the journal box proper as being formed as an integral part of the side casing wall H it will of course be understood that this is not an essential feature of the invention, as the journal box might, if desired in some machines, be a separate casting, and suitably bolted to the side casing or other support, although with a the arrangement shown is perhaps preferable.

The lower half or base of the casing 4 is provided with spaced Walls comprising an oil chamber for the journal box, these walls consisting of a front wall 5, side walls 6, and a bottom 7. There is also disposed a top cross member 8, forming a portion of the casting, and extending between the side walls 6, this top member providing a bearing support for the bushing mounting the end of the shaft. The lower section is also provided with a substantially U-shaped casting 9, forming with the casing head 4 an annularly disposed chamber 10 lying within the oil chamber 11 of the journal box, and leading from substantially the top high speed turbine cross member 8,

I as shown. The

of the oil chamber 11 into said annularly disposed channel 10 is'a port or ports 12 for conveying a free from grit lubricating oil from the top surface of the oil in the oil chamber to said channel 10, and into engagement with a disk feed wheel he'rein after referred to. A port or ports are also provided, as at 13, between the wall 5 and the top cross member 8, to allow of the passage into the oil chamber of any-used oil that may have gradually been fed out at the end of the journal shaft, although the bulk of the used oil will followa difi'erent course as will be hereinafter referred to.

he upper section of the casing is alsoprovided with an enlarged head orintegral casting 14, which is channeled out as at 15, formlng an alined continuation of the annularly disposed channel 10, and the cap piece 16, for thejournal box, cast with said upper section, is similarly provided with a cross member 17, corresponding with the and forming the upper abutment for the shaft bushing hereinafter referred to, the cap piece 16 of the upper casing section being securely bolted to the cross member 8 of the lower section by means of stud bolts 18 as shown in Fig. .2.

19 designates the brass or bushing for the shaft end, which bushingv may be headed as at 20 to be properly seated in recesses in the caslnghead abutment and cross members,

v diameters of these heads 20, as well as the bushing itself, is a little less than the bore in the journal box in which they are mounted, to provide for a small space 21, to allow of a slight play of the bushing, to compensate for the vibratory tendency of a rapidly. rotating turbine shaft. This bushing 19 on its under inner surface is substantially recessed as at '22 to catch the used oil drippings and conveys them through a pipe 23 back again to the oil reservo r, the pipe being threaded in the bushmg, as shown, in communication with said recess 22. It will also be observed that this pipe leads toward the bottom of the oil chamber, so that no hot or gritty oil will be mmediately floated back through the openmg or port 12 into the annular channel or passage 10, an important feature as will be readlly understood, as it not only prevents hot oil being refed to the journal bearings but also allows any sediment in the used oil to settle before the said used oil comes again into use. y The bushing 19 on its upper outer Surface 18 also provided with a recess 24; toward the left centerfof said bushing, from which recess leads a plurality of oil feed conduits, shown in the drawings as comprising the rlght angled conduit 25, the substantially ,central inclining conduit 26, and the longer of the the bushing, said oil conduits thoroughly distributing the oil over the bearing surface of the. journal shaft.

The headll of the casting is vertically bored at 28 and cross bored at 29, at a downward angle", forming an oil conduit between the recess 24- and the annular channel 10l5, theplugged ends 28 and 29 performing no particular function except to allow of the drilling of the bores 28 and 29.

30 simply designates a filling opening closed by a suitable plug, pered drain .opening for drawing off the oil and sediment when desired.

v It is well known that in turbines espe cially there is quite an oscillatory or vibratory motion of the shaft, owing to the very high speed of the rotor member, and in order to compensate for this, in my improved journal box as adapted for use with and 31 is a stopthe drawings this is simply shown as an I encircling coiled spring 34.

Having now described the general arrangement and mountings of parts, I will now refer specifically to the means for feeding the oil to the journal shaft, which essentil'ally amounts to a forced feed without emp y1n a ressure s stem or pump.

Thesh ft gt its outZr end has a cap 35 ass'istingin holding the same against undue axial play, and at its inner end it is provided with a disk 36 keyed thereto and rotatably mounted therewith in the channel 'or housing 10-15. This oil distributing flat disk 36 is of a diameter slightly less I than the channel or housin 10-15, and on itsouter face is provided wlth an externally beveled conical head 37, spaced therefrom by a groove or gutter 38, the beveled face of said conical head operating in an internally beveled conical opening 39 in the casing head 4-43, the two beveled faces being slightly spaced apart to compensate for any vibratory movement of the shaft and disk, the gutter 38 conveying any possible drippings of. oil back to the oil chamber.

It may be emphasized that the invention does not merely consist in an oil conveying against the inner wall of the housing and be thrown off of the disk the outer wall thereof, or casing head, practically forming a layer or mass of oil, under a certain pressure between said disk and Walls, the compressed oil on the left hand side of the disk serving as a seal to prevent leakage from the interior 3 of the casing, and the oil on the right hand side of the disk having an outlet at the port 29 is forced therethrough, thence passes through the bore or port 28 into the groove 24, thence through the conduits 25, 26 and 27 to the shaft to be lubricated, the used up oils, or rather the oils having served their lubricating purposes, falling into the groove 22, and thence conveyed into the tube 23, to be cooled and filtered by settling before again coming into use.

4C0 simply designates a plate covering an opening left in the side of the journal box and held in place by suitable screws 41, and

42 is a lug or key between the cross member 8 and the bushing, to prevent the latter from turning.

In view of the foregoing full and explicit description, it is not believed that a further statement of operation is necessary or desirable, and

Having thus described a practical embodiment of the invention, what I claim is 1. A lubricating journal box for a turbine or similar machine, said machine having a casing head and a shaft opening therethrough, and said journal box having an oil chamber; a shaft mounted in said box; a disk dipping in the oil of said chamber and mounted on the inner portion of said shaft opposite to and adjacent said opening; and means for conveying the oil thrown off centrifugally from said disk to said shaft, substantially as described.

2. A lubricating journal box for a turbine or similar machine, said machine having a casing head and a shaft opening therethrough, and said journal box having an oil chamber; a shaft mounted in said box; an annularly disposed housing formed in said journal box adjacent to and surrounding said opening; a disk mounted on the inner portion of said shaft and rotating in said housing; an outlet port leading from said housing; and ports leading from said outlet port to said shaft, substantially as described.

A lubricating journal box for a turbine or similar machine, said machine having a casing head and a shaft opening therethrough, and said journal box having an oil chamber; a bushing mounted in said box; an annularly disposed liousing opposite to and adjacent said opening and extending into said oil chamber; means permitting of the flow of oil from said oil chamber into said housing; an outlet port extending through the inner wall of said housing near the top thereof; conduits leading from said outlet port to said bushing; a' shaft mounted in said bushing; and means cooperating with said housing and the Oll contained therein to cause said oil to be thrown centrifugally against the walls of said housing for formstantial distance above the bottom of said oil chamber; means permitting of the flow of oil from the top of said oil'chamber into said housing; ports leading from the top of said housing to the interior of said bushing; and a disk mounted on said shaft within said housing for throwing the oil contained therein into said ports leading to said bushing, substantially as described.

5. A lubricating journal box for a turbine or similar machine, said machine having a casing head and a shaft opening therethrough and said journal box having an oil chamber; a bushing mounted in said box, said bushing being provided with an elongated recess on its upper outer surface; oil conduits leading from said recess to the interior of said bushing along the length thereof; a shaft mounted in said bushing; an annularly disposed housing located between said bushing and the casing head of said machine, opposite to and adjacent said opening, said housing being in communication with said oil chamber; an outlet port for said housing near the top thereof; an oil conduit leading from said outlet port to said elongated recess; and a disk mounted on said shaft, within said housing, for centrifugally conveying oil to and discharging same through said outlet port with a forced feed, substantially as described. I

6. A lubricating journal box provided with an oil chamber; a bushing mounted in said box, said bushing being provided with a longitudinal recess on its upper outer surface and an elongated recess on its lower inner surface; a pipe or conduit. depending from said bushing t substantially the bottom of said oil chamber and romuumitating with said lower inner recess: oil conduits leading from said upper outer recess to the interior of said bushing along the length thereof; a shaft mounted in said bushing: an annularly disposed housing located within said box at a substantial. distance above the bottom of said oil chamber; means permitting of the flow of oil from the top of said oil chamber into said housing; an outsame through said outlet port witha feed, substantially as described.

let port for said housing near the top thereof; an oil conduit leadlng from said outlet port to said upper outer recess; and a disk mounted on said shaft, within said housing, and rapidly rotating therewith for conveying centrifugally oil to and discharging forced 7. A lubricating journal box for a turbine or similar machine, said machine having a casing head and an outwardly flaring conical opening in its casing head, and said jour nal box having an oil chamber; a bushing in said box; a shaft journaled in said bushing; an annular housing in said box opposite to and adjacent said opening and in communication with said oil chamber; an outlet port for said housing near the top of the inner wall thereof; oil conduits leading from said 1 outlet port to the interior of said bushing;

and a disk mounted on said shaft, within said housing, and provided with a conical head disposed in said conical opening, and slightly spaced from said disk around the periphery of said head to form an annular gutter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

J OHAN A. MALM. Witnesses:

ANDREW EDDY, WILLIAM VORTMEIER. 

